Free agent Isaiah Thomas may soon have a new home in basketball.
The veteran NBA The point guard, a former two-time All-Star and All-NBA Second Team member while with the Boston Celtics, recently worked out for the team that drafted him, the Sacramento Kings, according to a new report from Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 Sacramento.
Thomas, with long-time friends NBA Backup center Tony Bradley, former title-winning forward Juan Toscano-Anderson and power forward Lonnie Walker IV have all been in Sacramento this week for workouts with current Kings players, according to Cunningham.
His workout with the Kings isn’t the only sniff Thomas has gotten from a pseudo-suitor this offseason. The 5-foot-9 point guard also worked out for the Milwaukee Bucks in July.
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With Milwaukee, Thomas could have been the replacement for All-Star point guard Damian Lillard, who is hoping to win the title after his 49-33 streak in 2023-24. Coached by Doc Rivers, Milwaukee is led by All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokoumpo.
Learn more: Milwaukee Bucks coach former All-Star guard looking to pursue NBA career
Under different ownership and management personnel, Sacramento originally selected Thomas with the No. 60 pick in 2011. NBA Drafted to Washington, he was the final pick of the summer. He finished seventh in Rookie of the Year voting that season, and in 2013–14, he averaged 20.3 points on .453/.349/.850 shooting averages, 6.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. He finished tenth in Most Improved Player voting that spring.
He signed a contract with the Phoenix Suns in the summer of 2014, but was traded to the Celtics midway through the season. He finished second in voting for Sixth Man of the Year, although he split that vote between two teams.
Thomas became much more than a backup the following season. In the 2015–16 season, his first year at the All-Star Game, he finished eighth in Most Improved Player voting, averaging a career-high 22.2 points per game on a .428/.359/.871 batting average while appearing in all 82 games for the first (and last) time in his career.
Thomas, however, was not yet finished accumulating distinctions.
The 27-year-old led Boston to a 53-29 record and first place in the Eastern Conference, averaging a career-high 28.9 points on .463/.379/.909 shooting, along with 5.9 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 swipes per game. He finished fifth in MVP voting that year and fifth in Most Improved Player voting, while also making his final All-Star team and the aforementioned All-NBA Second Team.
Thomas played through the tragic death of his sister and a career-changing hip injury in that year’s playoffs, guiding Boston to the Eastern Conference Finals. The team lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a five-game series.
Cleveland will eventually be the venue for Thomas’ next game NBA Stop. Still feeling the effects of his hip injury, he was traded to the Cavaliers as part of Boston’s plan to acquire All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving. Thomas was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers midway through the 2017-18 season.
While we’ve been treated to flashes, he’s still missing his old burst, which for a small player is absolutely essential when it comes to blowing players away in the paint. He’s never been the same. Thomas has since played for the Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans, the Lakers for a brief return, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Charlotte Hornets. It looked like he might be out of the league for good after not being drafted by a NBA team for a full season, 2022-23.
But Thomas wasn’t deterred. In 2023-24, he signed with the Utah Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, and played so well that he was almost instantly promoted to NBA Thomas returned to the Phoenix Suns, now led by All-Stars Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Thomas’ former Wizards teammate Bradley Beal. He played just six games in spot minutes (averaging 3.2 minutes per game). A return to the Kings would be a happy end to his career for the 35-year-old Thomas.
Learn more: Phoenix Suns News: Watch Isaiah Thomas Play His First NBA Game Since 2022 Against the Sixers
